Framingham woman finally gets kidney transplant

(This is a follow up from previous story: http://www.livingdonorsonline.org/dcforum/DCForumID2/1511.html)

Framingham woman finally gets kidney transplant

By Rob Haneisen

Saturday, January 20, 2007 - Updated: 12:42 AM EST

On Thursday at Massachusetts General Hospital, Orr was successfully transplanted, receiving an organ donated by her cousin's husband from New York.

With her health failing for more than a year and her search for a donor encountering numerous obstacles, Orr's change of fortune was a relief to family and friends.

"I'm actually allowing myself to be happy about it," said her husband Steve Orr, a Framingham Town Meeting member. "I've not been able to relax at all (this past year)."

Both Krystine Orr and her donor were recovering fine from the surgery, Steve Orr said. The next few days would be critical for Krystine to see if her body rejects the organ but as of yesterday afternoon, things were looking good though she was in some pain.

"Right now it's functioning like a race horse," Steve Orr said.

Krystine Orr suffered from diabetes for most of her early childhood and had a double transplant (kidney and pancreas) 10 years ago. But when the kidney - donated from a cadaver - began to fail last winter she began searching for a new donor.

At first, Krystine had several volunteers willing to give her one of their kidneys but one medical problem after another seemed to occur that would rule out potential donors. Krystine Orr's medical complications which including blood transfusions further narrowed her pool of donors.

The donor was found shortly after a Thanksgiving dinner when Krystine's cousin Karen from New York and her husband, Tom, were visiting.

"On the drive home, Karen asked Tom, Aren't you type O?' " said Steve Orr explaining how Tom's blood type was a match to Krystine.

Steve Orr added that Krystine's mother introduced Karen and Tom to each other before they eventually wed. Tom is an architect and he and his wife recently adopted a 17-month-old Korean boy.

"They are a beautiful family," Steve Orr said from the hospital.

Steve Orr said his wife's surgery lasted about six hours with the donor's lasting about three. A kidney donor can go home from the hospital in as little as three days. There are typically no long-term health problems associated with being a kidney donor and the main side affect in the short term is pain normally managed by taking over-the-counter pain medication.

For the recipient, the main concern in the short term is organ rejection. Doctors prescribe large doses of steriods and drugs that suppress the immune system. Patients who receive an organ donation remain on these drugs for the rest of their life but normally in gradually lower doses.

A kidney from a living donor can last 20 years or more and usually performs better than those from cadavers.

Krystine Orr joined State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland at the statehouse last month to announce a new bill that would create a $10,000 tax credit for organ donors. The credit would allow donors to be reimbursed for expenses not covered by the recipient's insurance.

The bill, filed last month, would make Massachusetts the 11th state in the country to pass a tax credit for organ donors.

(Rob Haneisen can be reached at rhaneis@cnc.com or 508-626-3882.)

Krystine Orr of Framingham
(Daily News File)
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/8998991556249649151